This is the shocking moment a referee in a Norwegian top-flight match sends off a physio for running onto the pitch and then arguing back when he gets ordered to leave. Official Marius Lien brandished the red card to Joao Ferreira with five minutes remaining in the clash between Sarpsborg and Brann. After being dismissed for two yellow cards, the backroom staff member seemed to laugh at the referee before a scuffle broke out between the two sets of players over the bewildering decision. Ferreira now faces a ban following the red card, raising questions as to who will treat injured players in the meantime.
Now footage has emerged of the unusual incident which was triggered when a member of the Sarpsborg side went down with cramp with the score locked at 0-0. Ferreira then sprints onto the field to attend to the player's injury but is shown a yellow card by the referee much to the delight of the Brann supporters. The physio then appears to gesticulate towards Lien in complaint, leading to the official showing a second yellow and a red card. He then walked around on the pitch laughing in disbelief before striding over towards Lien as opposition players point towards the sidelines in a bid to get him off the field. A minor scuffle between players then ensued before Ferreira finally walked off the pitch shaking his head. The match eventually ended 1-1 after a dramatic finale which saw Henrik Meister give Sarpsborg the lead in the first minute of stoppage time before Brann's Aune Heggebo equalised in the 94th minute.
The red card chaos came on the same day that Rosenborg's clash with Lillestrom was abandoned after fans threw flares and fish cakes onto the pitch in a protest against VAR. Rosenborg's ultras also chucked tennis balls onto the field which forced the players to exit the pitch under new rules. They then held up a banner which read: 'We will never give up, VAR will go away.' The players made their way out and the stadium announcer then said that if there were any more stoppages, the game would be called off. Before half an hour had been played of the fixture, both sets of fans hurled more tennis balls onto the pitch causing the match to be abandoned.
Source: Daily Mail